Rodent trap



March 21, 1950 c, 0, BACK 2,501,490

RODENT TRAP Filed May 21, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 1N VEN TOR. C Q 6% BY MK A T TOR/VE Y ZSMAQQ C. 0'. BACK RODENT TRAP March 21, 1950 2 SheetsSheet 2 Filed May 21, 1948 nlEi L u- ATTORNEX :Other objects'will appear hereinafter.

Patented Mar. 21, 1950 f'zlsomct I l "RODENT 'TRAP "ciietia ceases nac' gssetri,

'- Assamese May 21, 1

teams This invention pertainsto self-setting ro'dent traps of the automatic: reset type. 7

One of the objects of this "invention is to i provide a trap of simple 'c'h'ea'p and' efiicient construction arrangedsoth'at it is normally in set condition and so that the entrance of a rodent to be trapped will actuate the trapping'inechanisrn in the first-phase of its operation and will reset the mechanism in the second phase'of the I operation. V I

A second object is to provide 'a "trap with "a series of passageways wherein the bait is "set and mechanism against said-entrance runway plate,

and mechanism for detaining the entrance runway floor plate in either raised or Eloweredposition whereby said entrance 'door is held in either opjen or closed position.

I attain the foregoingobje'cts by means of the construction and devices shownin the acconipanying d'r'awings'in which:

'Figure'l is a plan View of the trap with the hinged cover remcved;

*Figur'e l, 'and'dr'awn on the original scale; s

Figure 5, a partial sectional end elevationtaken 'on 'line' '"5, Figure 1, and looking toward 'the entrance end "of the trap;

Figure 6, -'a"-s'ectional elevation taken on--li"ne 6-6, Figure 1, and looking toward the front end 'of the entrance runway;

Figure 7, a perspective vie'w'of 'a' fragmentary portion of the back'end 'of'thepentral penor "corral or the trap; and

a Figure 8, a perspective view," in semiediagrarh- "matic form, of a portion of the "resetting mechanism. g r V Similar 'nuinerals refer to similar parts in the several views.

. a centrally located screened ventilating window 4. An entrance hole 5 is out in the lower left inn 1%. 28*,389 (outage) hand, corner of the front of the case ll, as viewed =in'Fig1Z1re 3.

The interior of case 2 is divided/by partitions 'lll,3ll-,aand 28' to form a centralpent, surrounded on 'three sides' by runways; including an entrance runway :'6,':coi'nmenc'fng at the entrance hole 5 andi'extend'ing along the left side of the case, a transverse passageway 2'1 'extending' alongwthe backJ-there'of, and a reset runway "'lxa'long the rig-htiside. v .r

Entrance hole 5 is closedloy overt-head hinged door I 2 supported "on hinge pinl l. Arcrank l5 extending outward- -i'-16m;th'e upper portion of the is: connected bylin-k +6 to a :crank arm I! extending upward from ent rahcer'unway floor plate l8. This plate is hinged on pin l9 to lugs nion the lioor 21 of runway"l5 and positioned so that the freeend of plate 18 extende inward fr'om entrance opening '5. "The cranki Hi, link l6, and a'rin 'i'l are proportionedand positioned *sO that tlie' plate lflis' in the lowered p'0- sition,"asiiidicated?'by solid lines, the entrance door 1'! is clo'sed "as also-shown hy' solid lines (see -Figu-re 2)., bait rack"-23,-is positioned at the inner tr-or thi'syrunway. 'Foo'd 'or bait 25,"at-

lifatlv atria-"rodent tobe ti'appii, is placed in this rack {At the wheres-am the entrance rufnway an iiitho'l'zfi isbllt in partition IEL- "This opens "'ZB 'IeaEd'iZig oth'e reset-passageway i through Tiol 29 in parntienea On the "floor 32 of passagewa'ir 1, flbdr'plt'fl is hinged 'o'npin 35 near the reg emanates-0mm 2c.

jcurvelifplate 3e i's a ttach'ed laterally to wayseparatea frdm'theeiiit end adjacent T s unway 'is, of course'closed at the "is'curved sown 'r'est'bn 11001" 32. 'Atth'e'iipp'osftebr elevated" the 'plaite isce'ntra'lly slotted the edges pward-at 4T4 to'form journals 3 8 for hihge pin"40. A plate 'forming a noni-tu "g'ateflt *is' hinged on pih in, has a toothed iewer eagenand 'riormall y i'ests "against the fend of plate 36 tostod'rearward swing; Plate 36, in sediments 'providing -the"elevated runway la,

cover's;"the rim-sea end pdrtion of reset plate "33 *arl'd the positioning tube "ti-which is attached 'to -its:'=iipper iace approximately; over the *axis of hinge' pih 3-5. Theterminus f plate "36 'at'behd 34' form's =a=drop 'off "or fall "39 just above the free end of reset'plate 33, and the rodent passing Ward Upon "this ireewnd or "the plate.

, *A ref-set rocking shaft 44 '"extends transversely s oficaseji 'and is :j ournaleddn bearings '45 fastened ;-to; the floqr 56 oi theeentralportion, cf the case .bd om, :O e d, 1 sewn-ex e ds eneat 60 the entrance runway plate l8 and is bent at right "ifito atransverse assag'ewa 21, formed by plate thr'ough" non-return gate -M m-ust jump downangles away from the hinged end of this plate to form a lift arm 46. At the opposite end this shaft is bent at right angles away from the hinged end or reset runway floor plate 33 to form a. reset lift arm 41. These arms operate under and push upward on their respective fioor plates as shaft 44 is rotated, and are positioned radia'lly so that, as the reset runway plate 33.

hinges downward from the position shown in solid lines in Figures 4 and 8, lift arm 4'|,is pressed downward and the shaft 44 rotated clockwise. This motion swings arm 46 upward and no escape, and the rodent is fully trapped. Since the entrance gate is opened, the trap is reset shown by dotted outline I8. This, in turn, op-

erates link l6 so that it raises door l2= to-theopened position indicated by dotted lines l2. When plate I8 is, in turn, depressedv by the weight of rodent on its free end, a reverse action takes place. i

Positioning tube 42 is mountedto extend'longitudinally parallel to and on the face of reset plate 33 with its middle slightly to the right :of and above hinge pin 35. This ofiset position tends to balance the weight of door I: andlink 16 attached to plate. l8. Tube 42 is sealed at each end and contains a spherical weight,1such as metal ball 48, which is free to roll from one end to the other, being slowed somewhat by oil 49 with which the tube is filled. The oil not only damps its rolling movement, but also prevents bouncing of the ball after it hits the ends of the tube.

Partition 3!] is pierced near the front end .of the reset passageway l and a tube 50 placed adjacent the hole thus formed to provide an exit from this passageway. A non-return swinging plate 52 is suspended on hinge pin 53 in this passageway and has a toothed lower edge.v A stop pin 54 closes the lower portion of the passageway leaving only suflicient space above it to permit passage of the largest rodent to be trapped. This tube forms an entrance-into the central pen or corral 8. A fence 53, is formed in front of and adjacent the inner side of the exit from this tube by a plate attached to the bottom In operation, rodent finding entrance ho'le 5 open and smelling bait 25 at the inner end of passageway 6, and being attracted by light entering through holes '62, enters this passageway and goes toward the bait. Its weight on the free end of entrance floor plate l 8. depresses it to the position shown by solid lines, Figure 2. This closes door l2 by means oflink 16, depresses arm 46, raises arm 41, which raises plate 33 to the position shown in solid lines, Figure 4, and ball 48 rolls to the left end of tube 42. The noise of this operation excites the rodent and it tries to escape the way it came in. Finding the entrance door closed and held closed,.itreturns toward the. bait and finds hole 26 leading through transverse passageway 21 to reset passageway 1. Once in passageway I, the rodent seeks to escape by'returning in the opposite direction from whichit entered passage 6. It, therefore, goes in the direction indicated by arrows 64, climbs onto plate 36, .pushes through gate 4|, and drops down onto the free end of reset plate 33. This plate then tilts downward to the position ind'ioatedby dotted outline 33'. Downward motion of this plate turns arm 41 on reset shaft 44 downward,'--raises arm 4Band andready to receive another rodent. At convenient intervals the lid is opened and the trapped rodents removed.

. Fromtheforegoing, it will be noted that I have provided a continuous U-shaped passageway leading from the entrance opening 5 to the pen 8. After entering opening 5 the rodent B0 traps itself by the closing of door 12, and again resets the trap by dropping onto the free end of plate 33. Thecooperative up and down action of the two floor plates [8 and 33 makes this resetting action possible; but 'to prevent failure, and to give each position a definite dwell, the positionin tube 42 is necessary. This tube, positioned as shown, is simple and fool-proof, and by sliding the tube lengthwise in its holding clamp 62, definite and proper balancing of these two plates and their attendant parts is easily achieved.

In the form shown, the trap is best adapted to trapping mice and rats, but only small variations are needed to adapt it to trap other similar rodents, or the like.

Since various modifications of the exact form shown are possible, and many mechanical equivalents can be substituted for the several working parts, I wish to be limited only by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A resetting rodent trap having a rectangular caseprovided with a centrally disposed pen, an entrance opening, hinged over said opening, an entrance runway having a floor extending from said entrance opening, a bait positioned therein, a reset runway having a floor connected to said entrance runway and opening through a non-return gate into said pen, an entrancedoor closing plate hinged at one end to the floor of said entrance runway and operatively. linked to said entrance door to close said door when depressed, a reset plate hinged to the floor- 0f said reset runway-and operatively connected to said entrance door closing plate so that Jit'will raise said door closing plate when depressed, an elevated runway formed at the entering end of said reset runway having a nonreturn hinged gate at its exit end positioned above the free end of said reset plate; and a positioning element attached to said reset plate including a closed tube containing a spherical weight adapted to roll from one end to the other of said tube, whereby said door closing plate will be detained in either raised position holding said door open, or a depressed position holding said a door closed 2. A resetting rodent trap, including a rectangular case having a solid bottom plate forming a floor, an entrance opening in the front end thereof adjacent one side, and a hinged lid; ver- I tical partitionstherein providing a central pen,

an entrance closing door tube containing a non-return hinged gate, an over-head hinged door closing said entrance opening; a door closing plate hinged to its floor, and crank levers on said floor plate and .said entrance door comiected by a link so that when said floor plate is raised said door is held in raised open position and when said plate is depressed said door is held in lowered closed position; a plate extending from the floor of the rear portion of said reset runway dividing it into an elevated runway in the rear portion thereof and a lower portion in the front portion, and terminating in an elevated platform having an elevated non-retum swinging gate, a reset plate hinged to the floor of said reset runway and positioned with its free endbeneath said non-return swinging gate; a floor plate coordinating shaft journalled on the floor of said case and extending transversely thereof with its ends beneath said plates, bent to form radially extending cranks contacting the underside of said floor plates, and positioned so that when either one of said floor plates is raised the other is depressed; and a tilting positioning element attached to said reset plate adapted to detain said plate in either depressed or raised position, said element including a longitudinally disposed closed tube positioned over the hinge axis of said reset floor plate and having a spherical weight thereon free to roll to either end of said tube but being slightly detained by fluid contained therein.

3. In a resetting rodent trap having a case, a central pen therein, an entrance opening, a continuous runway leading from said entrance opening to said pen, and a hinged entrance closing door, mechanism for closing and opening said entrance door including, a door operating plate hinged adjacent said door and operatively linked to said door and adapted to swing said door downwardly to close said entrance when the unhinged end of said plate is depressed, and adapted to swing said door to opened position when the unhinged end of said plate is raised; a parallelly positioned reset plate, hinged in said passageway and extending in a reversed direction to that of said door operative plate, a shaft having radial arms at each end, each arm being operatively connected to a plate so that they are maintained in balanced condition; and a positioning mechanism for detaining said door and door operative plate in either raised or lowered position, including a closed tube containing a liquid and a freely rolling ball weight, said tube being positioned on and parallel to said reset plate, and above the hinge thereof, whereby when said plate is in lowered position said ball rolls to the lowered end of said tube lending its weight to maintain said plate in said lowered position, and when said plate is raised said ball rolls to the opposite end of said tube lending its weight to maintain said plate in raised position; the motion of said ball being damped by said liquid through which it must travel.

C. 0. BACK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,589,086 Anderson June 15, 1926 2,010,191 Koch et al. Aug. 6, 1935 2,225,251 Andrick Dec. 17, 1940 

